Duck identification

[A-con]

High mountain lake in california.
What kind of duck is this (I don't know anything about ducks)

 

[MTbowhunter84]

Guessing it would be a hooded merganser not sure though.

 

[tarheel]

Female common merganser.

 

[seidelm]

Common Merganser

 

[huntbux]

Yes on the Common Merganser and they are all over the place up here.

 

[TOM IN TENNESSEE]

Yep, Common Merganser

 

[whyelkhunt]

Am I to guess that you guys eat them when you are hungry?

 

[Zach]

Lawn Dart...

 

[huntbux]

never ate one, dont plan on ever eating one, though my wife thinks they look cool so if I ever have lots of extra money may let her shoot a few for a mount.

Will have to eat it then I guess.... since if you shoot it you got to eat it.

 

[TOM IN TENNESSEE]

NO!!!! But I would shoot a pair to be mounted.....oh, dang, could not get them to taxidermist quick enuff to salvage meat.....awwwww, shucks.....

 

[MHMT]

They taste fine. so do goldeneye, so do coots. Not sure why everyone is afraid to eat them. They're easy to kill so they're not as fun to hunt, but as far as taste, I think they're pretty on par with other ducks.

 

[huntbux]

MHMT now how are you cooking those to make them taste similar to other ducks being that they do not eat the same things as other ducks. Usually that makes a big difference on meat. Same with big game in my experience.

 

[TOM IN TENNESSEE]

Nothing wrong with coot! Skin them like you would a pheasant, keep cool, pull out big azz gizzard and slice and dice getting rid of all membrane, bone the legs and breast and cut into small pieces, fry in a hot skillet of sautéed onions after dipping in egg and rolling in meal, liberally add Crystal Sauce and Tony's.....good appetizers to a meal of duck ....or anything else......well except merganser----ain't eating no Merganser!
Coot gizzard make great gumbo along wid yu shrimp an a crab an a wild rice an a celery an a onyun an a yu peppars an a dose of Crystal an a Tony's.....

 

[genesis273]

Have only tried to eat a hooded merganser...once, and it reminded me of fishy liver! I couldn't spit it out fast enough! I would assume a hooded would taste similar to a common. Then again, not all ducks taste alike and mergansers probably don't either.

 

[TOM IN TENNESSEE]

I neither know nor intend to find out!